Night Hunting

The lake is a sheet of obsidian. Calm. A wispy layer of fog levitates just above its surface. The rustling of tall grass coming from the wooded peninsula prevents any moment of silence. Splinters from the dry oak pier cling to my jeans. I lay there on my back. I feel a few strands of my hair sink in between the crevice of the boards as I rest my head on the pier. The dock grumbles in protest with each movement I make.  My sister next to me leans back on her palms, gazing up at the stars. It had to be around one in the morning or so, but it’s our last night in Hayward for another two summers. I glance back over to the peninsula off to the right; about twenty feet of shoreline separates it from the pier. I see the movement of my brother’s flashlight on the dark lake water. He peruses along the shore, exploring the evening underwater activity of the lake. He calls it “night hunting”.

“Do you think it will be any different?” Kassidy mutters.

My eyes wander away from my brother’s peculiar curiosity, to my sister.

“What are you talking about?”

 My brother glances up from the water, looking in our direction briefly before losing interest in our conversation. 

“For college, you leave for pre-season in a week.”

 I shrug, gazing out across the water. I focus my vision on the island across the way, trying to make out the specific beginnings and ends of each tree.

“I don’t know, I guess,” I mumble, “I wasn’t really thinking about it quite yet. It’s probably not going to hit me until the day before I leave.”

 Kassidy snorts, rolling her eyes.

“You are terrible! Here I’ve been freaking out about you leaving for school and you haven’t even been thinking about it at all!”

 I glance over at her. My smile fades when I catch her biting the inside of her cheek, narrowing her hazel eyes more than usual.

“Kass,” I begin, pausing for a moment. “I’ve thought about leaving, but I’ve chosen to push it out of my head. I want to enjoy the time home that I have left. I’ll start worrying once we get back.” 

“It’s just,” her voice strains.

“What?”

She exhales sharply.

 “It’s just… who’s going to proofread my papers now?!” Her voice carries across the calm water, “I mean seriously, though! I’m going to have to do everything by myself. I can’t ask mom to help me, because you proofread her stuff too! And Bill Nye over there you can’t rely on for anything!”

“I heard that.” My brother calls from the beach

 “It’s true, though,” Kassidy affirms under her breath.

It was quiet for a few moments. I stare at my sister, watching her gaze up at the sky, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Her eyes no longer narrowed like before. In fact, they were wide open. I sit there studying her for a moment. Ignoring the protestant creaks from the pier below me, I sit up and I scoot closer to Kassidy. I wrap my left arm around her lean, muscular body, and rested my head on her shoulder.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, sis.” I said looking up at her with a huge grin on my face.

“Hmph, Whatever,” she says, smiling now.